Control Design for Position Synchronization in Central Converter Multi-Machine Actuators

To support further electrification of the aircraft industry, replacements of mechanical with electrical drives for various applications are being considered. Previous research by the authors proposed a drive architecture and control strategy for electromechanical thrust-reverse actuation in aircraft using parallel induction machines in a central-converter multiple-machine architecture, with rotor position synchronization achieved with variable stator resistance circuits controlled with proportional-integral feedback. This paper describes an improved control design employing the H-infinity method. Model linearization and weight function selection for the modified plant in the optimal control synthesis problem are described. Primary findings are that control performance using the proposed approach is improved in terms of maximum and normed position errors and also convergence time compared to the previous design.